According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the term intimate partner violence is often used interchangeably with the term domestic violence. It is explained by WHO as referring to "any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological, or sexual harm to those in a relationship." The Council of Europe convention on preventing and combating violence against women define "violence against women" is understood as a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination against women and shall mean all acts of gender-based violence that result in, or are likely to result in, physical, sexual, psychological or economic harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life" (McHugh & Frieze, 2006)
Domestic violence knows no class race or cultural boundaries and it still largely kept private and dealt with as an internal affair within families. The World Health Organization found that thirty-five percent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual partner violence which is intimate partner violence. They are four main sources of conflict that lead to domestic violence and that is men’s possessiveness, and jealousy, men’s expectation about women’s work, men’s belief in their right to punish “their” woman for perceived doing, and men believing they need to use violence to exercise or sustain their position of authority over a woman (Dunkle & Harlow, 2004) .
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The international community has placed violence against women on the international and how ultimately sustained efforts by academic and NGO caused violence against women to be defined as a violation of women’s human right. In 1970 the of domestic violence was little discussed in academia, there was no shelter for abused women, and police policies mandated they did not arrest men who assaulted their wives. Since then the united nation has created the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was and Declaration on the elimination of violence against women to tackle violence and discrimination against women (Dunkle & Harlow, 2004) .
Overview of Guyana
Guyana is on the continent of South America and it has ten different regions. The population is roughly seven hundred and thirty-seven thousand people. Guyana male to female population is fifty percent (50.2%) male to forty-nine percent (40.8%) female (Fischbach & Herbert, 1997) . Domestic violence in Guyana has been a grand phenomenon for a century and a social norm. Domestic violence accountants for Blah of the country crime s, but just like many less developed nations the numbers are not accurate. The country is plagued with corruption on state and local level. The law is not on the side of the women, because it is a patriarchal society we are raised in where young girls are thought not to question or stand up to the men in their lives. We should accept it.
We are looking at a country that is underdeveloped barley has any money and the money they do have, politicians are stealing it. Guyana is a country where people do not believe in seeing a therapist because you might be crazy if you do. A country that is traditional where the women stay home and the men and this has been happening for centuries. It just became somewhat okay for women to leave her husband. What might seem like fundamental right for many people in developing nations, is a privilege for the people of Guyana (Fischbach & Herbert, 1997) .
Justice for Women in Georgetown Organization
The NGO that I created is Justice for Women in Georgetown, Guyana. Justice for women will provide legal service for women who have been victims of domestic violence. Guyana does offer a free legal aid clinic in a majority of the country, but nothing like what I am purposing. Their free legal aid clinic covers all crime, but the NGO I am purposing only cover domestic violence victim and potential victim. This NGO will send a message not only on a national level but an international level that this level of injustice will not be tolerated. Also, by using the country law to protect these women. The Justice for Women will be a haven for women.
The Justice for Women is needed now more than ever with the increase in the population, and the increase in domestic violence within the past decades. It needs to be combated because it is becoming normal. What is so unique about this NGO is doing just that, it is showing offenders and the youths in the community that this will not be tolerated, and our action does have consequence. The Justice for Women is a non-governmental organization that provides legal service for women of domestic violence. Women will not be turned away based on race, religious belief or age. Our sole mission is to protect our clients to the best of our ability to gave them the justice they deserve.
The Justice for Women will be in the city which is Georgetown, so it will be easy access to everyone. We will partner up with Guyana help and shelter. The Help and Shelter gave women and their children a place to stay. Our NGO will provide legal service for women and help give women a voice for the inequality they face every day. The Justice for Women will have ten employees and every employee will play an essential role in the organization. The organization will have a receptionist, an accountant, four lawyers, two paralegals, a social worker, and one security guard. The staff will be majority women to help the clients to feel more comfortable and help open more.
Every client that comes in will fill out a questionnaire and then meet with a social worker. The social worker will decide what service each client need. In that way, we can provide the best service and help the clients to feel safe and protective. Other than having an office we will have a bus where two of the four lawyers and a paralegal will take turns going out to the rural area to provide legal service for those who cannot afford to come to the city.
The organization needs to have a solid relationship with the police forces in Guyana. Also, know how to handle them if need be. This is important because Guyana police forces are known to take bribes. Most victims have died because the police officers are taking bribes from the offenders and when they are released they kill their wives. Throughout this process we must make sure our clients are safe, so we need the law on our side every step of the way (Johnson, 2004) .
Response to cultural issues
Guyana has a very diverse culture with different races and different tradition. It is very important that everyone that works for the organization be Guyanese at some point live in Guyana know the people and how to commute with them. Guyanese are not very receptive to an outsider, and that keeps them close off from people. Guyanese do speak English, but it is broken English so many of the word if you are Guyanese you will not understand (Zajda & Gaudelli, 2008) . Also, being r espectful of their culture and believe will go a very far way. It is very important that the organization build and have an open relationship with people of the community. With building a relationship with the citizen of the country our hope is that people will come to us and know we are here to help them.
Long term and short term hurdles
With any organization, we know we will have a hurdle that we will face. One of our short-term hurdles is that young girls in Guyana start to get married at the age of fifteen. These girls too might be in abusive relationships. An understanding of the people that work at the organization that they will not be turned away, and they will receive the same help as any other clients. Another short-term hurdle is building our relationship with people which might require us to go to their local place of worship or their local community center. This will especially be important if we will go to the rural area once a week or as needed.
The only long-term hurdle that the organization will face is the corruption of government including law enforcement. With bribery and the culture that domestic violence has behind will be very challenging. Many people in Guyana believe domestic violence is not wrong that whatever the women are doing is probably her fault she provokes it (Ortiz-Barreda & Gil-González, 2011) . With the men in control of the finance in many households, a lot will not leave. And the women that do decide to leave and press charges against their husband or partner are not kept safe because the men tend to bribe their way out.
The mission statement for the organization
The mission statement of Justice for Women Organization is to end domestic violence against women and girls by making sure the rights of women are known and their quality of lives are improved. The organization is a multifaceted one which provides frontline services to the survivors and victims of domestic violence. The organization also uses training and development, including research to strengthen the interventions that are related to gender violence that is rights-based, and women-centered so as to end domestic violence in the country.
Activities of the organization
Non-governmental organizations help in the documentation and collection of data associated with domestic violence against women. As a result of the active and passionate involvement of the NGOs in the issue of domestic violence, they have managed to collect and document data concerning domestic violence. It is clearly evidenced that women in Guyana are most vulnerable when it comes to domestic violence (Chouinard, 2012) . The organization will offer support to women in Guyana and it will provide training to girls in non-formal education which will be one of its major projects.
The organization will play the vital role of providing the women with skills that will help them attain economic independence. The philosophy behind this is that economically empowered women will not run to their male counterparts for financial assistance thus reducing the cases of violence (Moser, 2012) . The organization will train women and girls on how to get employment and secure training. The women and girls will also be trained on how to start and manage their own businesses with the help of microcredit facilities.
All the projects of the organization will be carried out in Guyana and the main aim will be to empower women and girls with skills that will help them obtain an economic edge. The victims of domestic violence will be provided with counseling services by the organization. The women and girls will be caught up in domestic violence that makes them confused, will be provided with psychological counseling. Finally, the organization will provide theater to the villages in order to improve psychological health among women and girls.
A receptionist, an accountant, four lawyers, two paralegals, a social worker, and one security guard will be the only employees of the organization and they will be expected to work according to policies and regulations of the organization in order to achieve the goal of the organization. The receptionist will be working in the waiting area and she will be expected to greet and receive visitors and clients. The reception determines the image of the organization and therefore having a good receptionist means that the clients will feel satisfied with the services of the organization. The work of the accountant will be to perform financial function concerning the collection, recording, presentation, and analysis of accounting information. The accountant will ensure that all the financial inflows and outflows are recorded accurately in the financial books. The work of the four lawyers is to provide the victims of domestic violence with legal advice. The social worker will help the victims of violence cope with problems faced by them. The work of the security guard will be to ensure that the premises and personnel are secure.
Causes of gender-based violence in Guyana
The reasons such as little exposure and illiteracy of people living in Guyana, and men still believe that male superiority should be respected which is outdated and this makes them beat their women when they have made any mistake. Generally, in South Africa, gender violence is acute and the number of women murdered by a former partner is 9 out of 100,000 which is the total population of women. The major contributory factors of the gender-based violence include alcohol, partial construction of the roles of gender within the society, substance abuse, and poverty (Johnson M. P., 2011) .
The success of Justice for Women Organization
The success of the organization can be determined by the reduction in the number of domestic violence in the country. The best way to eliminate domestic violence is to stop people from becoming abusers. If the perceptions of different cultural groups concerning domestic violence are changed through education by the NGO, then domestic violence will reduce. The number of students who are aware of domestic violence determines the success of the organization. If the number of students who participate in the training provided by the organization is high then the organization will be considered as successful.
The success of the organization can be determined by penalties offered to the offenders by the courts. The offenders often bribe the police in order to avoid charges and the plaintiff does not receive a fair trial. The work of the NGO is to ensure that the women and girls receive a fair trial when it comes to gender-based violence. If the penalties are tough, the offenders will stop abusing their wives because they will be risking a jail term (Seedat, Suffla, & Ratele, 2009) . In addition, the amount of funds received from the government for support services determines the success of the organization. The work of the government is to support NGO by providing it with finances. The services provided by a non-governmental organization determines the amount it receives from the government.
The success of the organization can be determined by the way courts handles issues associated with domestic violence. The NGO will collect information concerning domestic violence which will be used as evidence in courts to prosecute the offenders. Family courts do not handle domestic violence in the right manner and this is because the judges receive bribes from the offenders, thus ruling in favor of the offender. In addition, most of the mental health professionals have little training concerning domestic violence which affects their ability to determine if someone is violent. Therefore, the number of successful cases in court determines the success of the organization. Finally, the success of the organization can be determined by the number of women who have become independent. The independence of a woman is determined by her ability not to depend on a man. If the number of homeless women reduces in the country, then the organization will be considered to be successful.
Summary
The organization aims to rescue women from relationships that are considered abusive within the Georgetown and ensure that they go through a period of treatment in order clear trauma. After the treatment, they are provided with some duties within the organization so as to earn wages that they can use to feed and educate their children. The organization will visit schools and other learning institutions and teach the students concerning gender-based violence and its effect. The organization will create awareness among the residents of Georgetown concerning gender-based violence and make the women and girls aware of their rights. The organization will achieve this by going to the remote areas of Georgetown with clear messages concerning how men should treat the women with respect and dignity as opposed to abuse and disrespect.
The global significance of the organization is that it will act as an informer to the other parts of the world concerning the state of affairs of Guyana. Without this NGO, the world will not know what a Guyanian woman is going through. Most governments are ashamed of the poor state of the rights of women and they will do everything possible to ensure that they shut down all the attempts of informing the world of what is going on. Therefore, the NGO will be the only way through which the world will know what women in Georgetown are going through.
Conclusion
It is clear that the Justice for Women Organization in Georgetown, Guyana will play many roles as far as gender-based violence is concerned. The NGO will act as a source of data and it will equip the victims with skills in order to empower them. It will also provide counseling services to the victims of violence, help women to come up with plans, and educate the public concerning the rights of women. The NGO will work with the government in ensuring that the resources for combating gender-based violence are used in the right way. The NGO will also enable the world to understand what is going on Georgetown, Guyana.
References
Chouinard, V. (2012). Pushing the boundaries of our understanding of disability and violence: Voices from the Global South (Guyana) . Disability & Society, 27(6) , 777-792.
Dunkle, K. L., & Harlow, S. D. (2004). Gender-based violence, relationship power, and risk of HIV infection in women attending antenatal clinics in South Africa . The lancet, 363(9419) , 1415-1421.
Fischbach, R. L., & Herbert, B. (1997). Domestic violence and mental health: correlates and conundrums within and across cultures. Social Science & Medicine, 45(8) , 1161-1176.
Johnson, M. P. (2011). Gender and types of intimate partner violence: A response to an anti-feminist literature review. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 16(4) , 289-296.
Johnson, T. (2004). Gender Based Violence. Common Wealth Judicial Journal, 15(3) , 22-30.
McHugh, M. C., & Frieze, I. H. (2006). Intimate partner violence. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1087(1) , 121-141.
Moser, C. O. (2012). Gender planning and development: Theory, practice and training. Boston: Routledge.
Ortiz-Barreda, G. V.-C., & Gil-González, D. (2011). Worldwide violence against women legislation: an equity approach. Health Policy, 100(2) , 125-133.
Seedat, M. V., Suffla, S., & Ratele, K. (2009). Violence and injuries in South Africa: prioritising an agenda for prevention. The Lancet, 374(9694) , 1011-1022.
Zajda, J. B., & Gaudelli, W. (. (2008). Education and social inequality in the global culture (Vol. 1). New York: Springer Science & Business Media.
